Nex
Nex (meaning "murder" or "death" in Latin), along with Azzanadra and formerly Zamorak, is one of the most powerful generals of Zaros. She is located in the God Wars Dungeon and used to have a combat level of 1001, which was changed to 220 in the Evolution of Combat, making her currently tied second for the [http://runescape.wikia.com/wiki/Strongest_monster strongest monster in RuneScape] outside of Dungeoneering with the Queen Black Dragon. She was the first monster to have a combat level of over 1000 (the only two other monsters were the level 2100 Queen Black Dragon and the level 9001 Ferret of Doom, the latter of which cannot be fought). Strategy Nex is unlike any other monster on Onyx. With 16 different attacks and the ability to run faster than players, this venture should not be taken lightly. When in the boss room, the protect from mage prayer should be used at almost all times. Only change it when Nex is in the shadow phase - in which case you should range protect - or when she's dead. Nex can be tackled multiples ways; be it ranged only, a combination of ranged and melee, or even melee only. All three methods will be discussed in the final thoughts section. However, in this guide, the methods involving ranged will be focused on, as they are the easiest and will fit the requirements of all but the most elite teams. Unfortunately for some people, Overloads are practically necessary. With Nex often draining stats, anything other than an Overload would be vastly inconvenient and a waste of Super Restore potions. The main types of bolts used here are either Diamond (e) or Ruby (e), though many teams prefer the use of Ruby (e) for the chance of the special (which has a max hit of 500). Generally it’s good to bring both, using Ruby bolts for the bulk of the fight, and Diamonds on the reavers and minions, or when Nex is almost dead. If preferred, instead of Diamond (e) bolts a melee weapon can be brought. This can be useful when killing reavers, minions, and Nex at low LP. Since Overloads are being used, Prayer Potions/Super Restores/Super Prayer Potions are basically interchangeable, the only differences being the amount they restore, and that Super Prayer Potions can’t be put in a familiar. One of Nex’s first attacks has the ability to poison, so bringing a single Antipoison is advised to save HP throughout the fight. Prayer Potion ratio is entirely dependant on your team. The more organized and experienced the team, the less damage you’ll take and longer you’ll last, so more Prayer Potions are needed. If going with a newer team or one where the boss-hunting experience of other members isn’t known, more brews will be needed. Different familiars can be useful up to a point, but overall the extra few damage isn't worth sacraficing 20/30 inventory spots. Tortoise/Yak should always be brought, then a different familiar may be summoned after the BoB's been depleted. Boss fight Now that you’re finally all prepared, it’s time to tackle Nex. Nex has 5 different stages, each stage occupying 20% of Nex’s LP. During each stage, she attacks with different styles and focuses on a different weakness. Note that many of these attacks cannot be avoided, so unless there is a method listed, the only thing to do is to anticipate what will happen and try to stay alive. Smoke Phase (Fill my soul with smoke!): Let the virus flow through you: Nex has a smoke-like attack that will poison you, which unless combated with an Antipoison, will continue to deal damage throughout the whole fight. Let the virus flow through you (2):' Nex will send out a virus that works away at your LP and Prayer. This alone wouldn’t be so bad, except that anyone within two squares of the person with the plague (notated by a *cough*) will also catch the plague, and it will continually be passed on. The only way to get rid of this is to stay away from anyone else with the plague for about 10 seconds, until you receive a message saying it has dissipated. '''''There is no escape:''' An annoying attack which will pick you up and drag you across the room, dealing large amounts of damage and often shutting off protection prayers. ''Fumus, Don't fail me'':' Once Nex hits 80% LP, she will call on Fumus, the first of the four minions you’re able to attack. Once she does this, your team should run to the northwest corner of the boss room and take out Fumus as quick as possible. Doing so will allow you to progress to the next phase of the fight. Shadow Phase (Darken my shadow): 'Fear my shadow:' Every 20 or so seconds, Nex will call upon the shadow, and the whole screen will go near black. If you are close to Nex, she will steadily hit anywhere from 10-100 LP while the room is dark. 'Embrace darkness, fear the shadow:' A dark circle will appear under where many people are standing. This is critical, you must get off of this shadow as soon as possible, or it will hit you for 100-500 LP. This is one of the most common attacks for players to be killed from. 'Umbra, don’t fail me:' Once Nex gets to 60% LP, she calls on Umbra in the northeast corner. Dispose of Umbra like you did with Fumus and carry on. Blood Phase (Fill my soul with blood): At this point, everyone in the boss room needs to pay full attention, and it’s also a good idea to have sounds on. During this stage, Nex will alternate between a “siphon” and a “blood sacrifice.” It’s important to know which one she’s on, or your team could potentially stay on this stage forever, never getting her down to 40% LP. 'A siphon should solve this:' Nex will spawn some Blood reavers, and also feed off of any damage you deal to her. This means that any amount of damage you hit her during this time, she will heal the corresponding amount of LP. What must be done for this is as soon as you see or hear the word “siphon,” click away from Nex, and start attacking the reavers. After around 2-3 seconds, the siphon will stop, and Nex is able to be damaged again. 'I demand a blood sacrifice:' Nex will target one person, and that person must run away from her as fast as possible or she will hit them for a small amount of LP, while draining the whole team for some prayer points. If it was brought, now is the time to switch to Melee and attack the boss. If an offensive spec weapon was brought, do as many specials as you can now, to make this stage as short as possible. Switch back after Cruor is dead. 'Cruor, don’t fail me':' At 40% LP, Nex will call on Cruor in the southeast corner, once again, dispose of him and continue on. Ice Phase (Infuse me with the power of ice!): '''Contain this: A box of icicles springs up around Nex, damaging and freezing one or two players caught in them, as well as disabling protection prayers. Die now, in a prison of ice: Nex sends out a wave of snow, draining a percentage of prayer points and freezing a couple players in place. A good way to minimize the damage caused by this is to capitalize on the fact that the attack is based on a percentage; the less prayer points you have left, the less will be drained. Drinking a dose of Prayer Potion at 10-20 points left will keep your prayers up, while keeping the amount drained by the attack to a minimum. Glacies, don’t fail me: '''The last minion standing will become vulnerable. Head to the southwest corner to finish him off, then move on to the last stage. NOW, FOR THE POWER OF ZAROS: Nex spends this whole portion running around the chamber, trying to be as much of a nuisance as possible. She will go around meleeing random people and using the virus attack, trying to hit as many people as she can. She will also use some prayers, alternating between Soul Split, Protect from Melee, and no prayer. A good strategy to make this stage end as quick as possible is to keep your team close together, all in one spot if possible. Nex will only move to where other players are, so if your entire team is in a small area, she will almost constantly be within attacking range. Finally, if Melee was brought, now is the time to use it. ''Taste my wrath'':''' Even though you’ve killed everything in the room, you aren’t in the clear yet. Right as Nex dies, she will turn on the Wrath prayer, in an attempt to kill of anyone who let their LP drop too low. When looking for it, this attack is quite easy to avoid, but for a newcomer could be an unpleasant surprise.